How to Roast Vegetables
Roasting vegetables is a simple way to bring out the flavor. I like to mix it up and use vegetables such as: turnips, carrots, parsnips, zucchini, and yellow squash. For extra flavor, I’ll slice an onion into wedges and add a garlic clove or two.
Preheat the oven to 425°F, cut vegetables into similar sized chunks*, toss with a small amount of olive oil, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Bake until tender, this will take more time for thick chunks than for thin slices, generally between 20 – 60 minutes.
*If you are roasting a mix of soft vegetables like zucchini or squash and tougher root vegetables. Please keep in mind that the soft vegetables will finish much more quickly than the harder varieties. To compensate cut the softer vegetables more thickly than the root vegetables to ensure they finish around the same time.
If you are using turnips, which tend to have a slight bitterness, consider adding a little balsamic vinegar to the olive oil. The acidity and the natural sweetness will counter the bitter flavor.
Beets add a gorgeous color to the mix and also are sweeter than many other vegetables, serving as a nice counterpoint to parsnips and turnips.
For variety consider sprinkling with herbs such as rosemary or thyme.
Enjoy
I love roasted veggies!
Thanks for this – even I could do this!!
Try adding radishes. They get sweet when roasted. Beets (fresh, not pickled) and sweet potatoes are good too. Any winter squash (acorn, butternut, etc.) would work, too. Fennel is excellent, and produces a really unique flavor.
Basically, if there’s a veggie in the grocery store that you’ve never used, peel it, chunk it, and roast it and see what happens. You really can’t go wrong!
Carrots and parsnips together are a good combo. I’ll cut them into long sticks, as you would for a veggie dip tray, instead of chunks. They go great with pork.
Mmmmm, that sounds delish!
I LOVE roasted winter vegetables! I usually do mine a little longer, more like 40 minutes. Sometimes we wrap a whole bulb of garlic in foil and pop it in alongside; then we squeeze the roasted garlic onto French bread. yummmm.
Roasted garlic is amazing. ::filing away for future posts:: 😉
Where did you get these plates? I have plates that I bought at Sears (a million years ago) that I would like to add to, but I don't think they make them anymore. These would coordinate nicely. Mine were made by Colormate and look similar to these but have circles of several colors, not just green. Thanks!!
I found them at Big Lots, a couple of years ago. (The green ones that were in the original picture). I finally broke down and bought a new set of white plates since they photograph better & so many green ones had broken that we didn't have enough to go around.
Try adding radishes. They get sweet when roasted. Beets (fresh, not pickled) and sweet potatoes are good too. Any winter squash (acorn, butternut, etc.) would work, too. Fennel is excellent, and produces a really unique flavor.
My favorite roasted veggie is Cauliflower. Also have roasted Eggplant, Porto Bello Mushrooms and peppers in addition to what is mentioned here. And Brussels Sprouts (I have only had them by themselves) are best cooked by roasting. A GREAT way to use leftovers is in roasted veggie wraps: make herbed cream cheese (add minced fresh garlic, a tiny bit of salt, and herbs of your choice – I use herbes de Provence blend. (Soften the cream cheese first in the microwave a bit if it is too stiff.) On a wrap of your choice, spread some herbed cream cheese. Top with cold (or room-temperature) roasted veggies. Wrap, and voila, you have a tasty, and healthy, veggie lunch! Any leftover herbed cream cheese will go great on crackers, especially for a party!